1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for production of edible ice bodies by moulding and freezing the bodies in singular moulds.
2. Description of Related Art
For such a production with high capacity it is customary that the moulds, in transversely arranged rows, are advanced in a conveying line which can be rectilinear or annular in a horizontal plane, the moulds during this conveying being depending into a freezing brine, which ensures a good heat transfer. The moulds are initially filled with a cold ice substance, and in a following station, in which the ice has started to solidify, carrier sticks are inserted in the products, whereafter a final freezing is effected along a freezing stretch. At the end thereof the rows of moulds are successively lifted and transferred to a bath of warm water for a brief heating of the mould walls in order to loosen the adherence of the ice bodies to the moulds, whereafter the upwardly protruding carrier sticks of the products are gripped by a gripping equipment operating to pull the products upwardly and transfer them to further conveying to a packing or working station, e.g. for applying a coating and, optionally, a withdrawal of the carrier sticks in cases where these should not remain on the products.
The use of the freezing brine, which is a strong salt solution, involves a number of problems, partly because it is indeed not a food grade substance and partly because it is heavily corrosive, whereby the moulds and other relevant parts of the apparatus should be made of corrosion resistive materials.
It has previously been recognized that these problems may be overcome by cooling the moulds with cold air instead of brine, but the production systems of this type as disclosed so far have been tremendously energy consuming, with a poor efficiency of the freezing air and even with a non-uniform freezing action on the moulds.